Magnetic flow meters are used to measure flow of a conductive process fluid through a flowtube. The conductive fluid flows past an electromagnet and electrodes. In accordance with Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, an electromotive force (EMF) is induced in the fluid due to an applied magnetic field. The EMF is proportional to the flow rate of the fluid. The electrodes are positioned in the flowtube to make electrical contact with the flowing fluid. The electrodes sense the EMF that is magnetically induced in the fluid which can then be used to determine flow rate. The EMF is measured by the flow meter using a differential front end amplifier connected across the electrodes. The potential of the process fluid is used as a reference for the differential amplifier. Note that this reference may not necessarily be Earth ground.
The transmitter must be referenced to the process to provide a stable reading. This process connection is established by insuring electrical connection between the flowtube and the process. This can be done with ground rings which strap to flowtube, a ground electrode which is connected directly to the flowtube, or a strap between the flowtube and the adjacent conductive pipe. Earth ground can provide a low noise reference and often is required by electrical safety code. However, earth ground is not necessarily required for proper operation. Some installations due to the electrical nature of the process or the corrosiveness of the process fluid use either plastic or non-conductive pipe or a lining in the metal pipe. In these cases, the process may be at a different electrical potential than earth ground. The connection between the ground electrode and flowtube through bolts or some other means can provide a path for electrical current to ground which may lead to corrosion of the ground ring or ground electrode.
In many process installations, process piping carrying the process fluid is conductive and is in contact with the process fluid. Accordingly, simply connecting a strap from the flowtube to the process piping will ensure that the conductive fluid is at the same potential as the flowtube. However, in some applications, the process piping itself may be non-conductive, or may have a non-conductive inner lining. Thus, electrical contact to the process piping itself will not establish a reference to the process fluid. In these situations, an alternative technique must be used to electrically couple to the process fluid. For example, a process reference can be accomplished by using either ground rings or a ground electrode within or adjacent to the flow meter.
One of the problems that has occurred in magnetic flow meters in accordance with the prior art is significant corrosion of ground electrodes. The connection between the ground electrode and flowtube through bolts or some other means can provide a path for electrical connection to ground which may lead to corrosion of the ground ring or ground electrode. In installations where ground electrodes tend to corrode, the flowtube can be electrically isolated from earth ground to remove the electrical path to ground. This will generally prevent any electrical current from flowing through the process fluid and the ground electrode to earth ground. While this approach has generally resolved many problems, it has not addressed all situations.
Some situations continue to exist where it is not feasible to isolate the flowtube from ground due to the particular application. One example of such a case is where the bolts themselves used to install the flowtube provide an electrical path between the flowtube and the adjacent process piping. Another example is the use of metal lined pipe which prevents isolation of the flowtube from adjacent piping. However, this will likely provide some path to earth resulting in stray current corrosion of the ground electrode or ground ring. In such environments, grounding rings can be used. Grounding rings provide a greater surface area in comparison to a ground electrode and the corrosion is much less problematic. However, in some situations, ground rings are impractical. For example, the failure of a ground ring can result in leaking of the process fluid. Further, the use of an inert metal such as platinum is expensive. Accordingly, providing a magnetic flow meter with a ground electrode that can resist corrosion and is less expensive than ground rings would be particularly useful in some installations.